London’s Olympic Velodrome is opening to the public for the first time. The scene of great triumph for Team GB in the London 2012 Olympics, it should welcome droves of budding cyclists who hope to one…

Since the financial disaster of the Montreal 1976 Olympics, “economic impact assessment” has become an increasingly popular tool for host governments and organisers to justify the vast expense of major…

It’s time for athletes of all abilities to compete in one event.
EPA/Andy RainSeptember 11, 2012

It was painful to see the Olympic rings taken down from London Bridge after the Olympics only to be replaced by the Paralympics emblem (the three agitos). Aside from the fact this emblem was not chosen…

It might be time for the Paralympics movement to strike out on its own.
EPA/Andy RainSeptember 7, 2012

In the 64 years since the Paralympics was born, the relationship between this event and the Olympics has grown and evolved. And now, with both events returning to London in 2012, the Olympics and Paralympics…

It will be time to say hello to Sochi 2014 before we know it.
Russian PostAugust 17, 2012

It’s only been a week since the London Olympics drew to a close and already athletes are starting to focus on Rio 2016. Of course, for the International Olympic Committee (IOC), it’s not four years until…

Australia’s kayakers paddled their way to gold but don’t expect a huge increase in kayak sales in the next few months.
EPA/Robert GhementAugust 17, 2012

Did watching the Olympics inspire you to get out and play sport? Perhaps the gold-medal-winning effort of our men’s K4 kayaking team inspired you to take to the water. Or maybe Anna Meares’ gold in the…

It is now more than 30 years since the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) opened in Canberra, so it was predictable that a modest, rather than overwhelmingly successful campaign at the London Olympics…

Team Australia will be aiming to reach higher in 2016.
AAP Image/Tracey NearmyAugust 16, 2012

With the London Games fading into memory it’s time now for us to focus on Rio 2016. One of the questions on many people’s lips is one of whether Australia will do better on the medal tally in Rio than…

Kirani James’s gold medal in the men’s 400m saw Grenada lead the tally for medals won per head of population.
EPA/Diego AzubelAugust 16, 2012

Just before the London Olympic started, I wrote an article for The Conversation about predicting medal success. Now, with the Games behind us, it’s worth considering how well these predictions turned out…

The Olympics won’t have an effect on sport participation after the fact unless time and money are properly invested.
EPA/Christian CharisiusAugust 16, 2012

This is an edited version of a letter sent to UK Prime Minister David Cameron and a number of other officials with connections to the London Olympics. Dear Prime Minister, I have spent the past two weeks…

If we want to keep producing great Olympians, we need to keep sport in schools.
AAP Image/Julian SmithAugust 15, 2012

The post-mortem of Australia’s performance at the Olympics is in full swing. Indeed the knives were being sharpened as early as day two of compeition when the men bombed out of the men’s 4x100m swimming…

It’s no secret – Australia underperformed at the 2012 London Olympics. But was the criticism directed at our Olympians unfair on the athletes, coaches, and support staff who worked so hard, and gave up…

The Olympics are at their best they bring people together.
EPA/Denis SabanganAugust 14, 2012

And so the London Olympics are over and we can all sit back and reflect on the past few weeks with some kind of clarity. Compared with the events of previous Games – such as the Munich Massacre of 1972…

There have been a lot of questions following Australia’s below-expectation performance at the London Olympics. But the question I keep asking myself is, how did so many “experts” get their medal tally…